


Le Cœur de Glace

by GreenArcher



Category: Beauty and the Beast (1991), Frozen (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Crossover, Gen, Prompt Fill, Rescue Missions, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love, Sister-Sister Relationship, Wrongful Imprisonment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-15
Updated: 2014-07-15
Packaged: 2018-02-08 16:45:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1948638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenArcher/pseuds/GreenArcher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anna goes looking for Elsa, only to find her locked up in the castle of a terrifying Beast. A bargain soon is struck. One-shot until further notice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Le Cœur de Glace

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as a prompt fill for the [Bittersweet and Strange](http://z6.invisionfree.com/bittersweet_strange/index.php?act=idx) forum. The prompt was to replace a Beauty and the Beast character with a character from another work of fiction (TV shows, movies, etc. are all fair game). For my particular fill, I chose to replace Maurice and Belle with Elsa and Anna from Disney's Frozen. I originally wrote this as an opening for a multi-chapter fic, but then I remembered that I don't like Frozen, and therefore wouldn't see much use in investing my time writing for a movie that I'm not a fan of. So I decided to rework it into a one-shot instead.
> 
> As always, a big thanks to my beta reader [TrudiRose](http://www.fanfiction.net/~trudirose) for her super helpful suggestions, especially regarding the new ending. Hope you enjoy!

"Elsa? Elsa, are you here?"

No answer. All Anna heard was her own voice, reverberating across the empty corridor like a ghost. Shivering, she pulled her green cloak closer to her body and continued her search. She hoped she would find her sister soon.

As a child, Anna never understood why her parents always forbid the servants from opening the shutters in the castle. They had a fantastic view of the fjords. Taking away that scenery not only made the castle look depressing but made Anna feel like they were hiding something from the rest of the kingdom. But this castle, she thought, with its dark, cavernous hallways and unpleasant gargoyle statues brought a whole new meaning to the word "depressing." She was sure that no one lived here. But at the same time, she couldn't shake off the feeling that she was being watched as she tiptoed through the castle's deserted hallways. Almost like someone was following her...

_Focus Anna, focus._

Anna knew Elsa was here because she'd seen her glove by the front gates. She had to have stopped by, at the very least. Once Anna found her, they'd get out of this creepy place, unthaw Arendelle and then, maybe then, they could talk about rekindling the sister bond they'd lost touch with for the past thirteen years. Thinking ahead was all Anna had to stop herself from losing her mind right now.

* * *

Elsa sat with her back against the dungeon wall and her knees pulled up to her stomach. Her thoughts were a jumble of anguish and despair as she recalled, once more, the events that had brought her here.

When Anna had pulled off Elsa's glove at the coronation ball, accidentally exposing her powers, all she wanted was to get away, disappear, forget everyone and everything. She'd ran so far and so fast that she didn't look where she was going until she stumbled straight into a pack of wolves in the forest. She was sure she was going to die as she ran through the snow, trying to get away. But then, she came across something unexpected. An abandoned castle in the middle of the woods. At least, she _thought_ it was abandoned.

Elsa spent one minute exploring the castle's massive entrance hall before two talking objects welcomed her: a candelabrum, and a grandson clock. At first, she was startled that they could actually speak, but they were so kind and hospitable, soon she forgot her unease. They insisted she warm herself by the fire as they led her into a room off the foyer, wrapping her in a toasty blanket and offering her some tea to drink. For a few minutes, Elsa, surrounded by these unexpected strangers wondered what it would be like to spend the rest of her life with them, forgetting everything she used to be. Her powers only harmed humans, not objects after all. Maybe she didn't have to be alone anymore...

She should have known it was all too good to be true.

_"There's a stranger here," the voice growled._

_The cold never bothered Elsa, but the moment she heard that deep voice from coming from the front of the room, a terrible chill ran down her spine. She vaguely heard one of the objects address the speaker as "Master" before she peered over the armchair and came face to face with him herself: a terrifying creature with giant teeth and horns._

_She leaped from her seat with a gasp, trying her hardest not to panic._

_"Who are you?" the creature demanded as he advanced on her. "What are you doing here?"_

_"P-please," Elsa stammered, hearing the soft crunching of snow at her feet as she took a step back. "There were w-wolves in the forest. I was looking for a place to hide. I didn't mean...,"_

_"You're not welcome here!" he snarled._

_Elsa flinched. At the same time, she felt a surge of energy burst from her fingertips as she conjured a protective barrier of ice between herself and the creature. It wasn't a particularly large barrier, but it startled him for a just few seconds so she could properly explain herself._

_"My name is Elsa," she told him, holding up her arms in case she needed to use her powers again. "I'm the queen of Arendelle. I came here to hide; I didn't know that anyone lived here. Please, let me go. I won't come back. I promise."_

_The Beast stared at the queen suspiciously. In another life, one where he wasn't selfish, he might have pitied her. He might have thought that she was a victim of circumstance, forced to become an outcast, just like him. But the years of solitude had left his heart hard and bitter. Misfit or not, he had no compassion for intruders. So instead of letting her go, he grabbed her and dragged her straight to the dungeons._

Reflecting on all of this now, Elsa knew that even if she'd stayed at Arendelle, someone would have locked her up, eventually. A prison was the only place for someone with dangerous powers like hers. And on the bright side, she'd already spent thirteen years of her life holed up in her room. It wasn't like this cell was any different. Her captor didn't seem to care if she turned the entire place into ice, either. Yes, here she would be safe, she told herself. Here she would never have to worry about hurting Anna, or anyone in Arendelle ever again.

"Elsa?"

The sound of her sister's voice startled Elsa from her thoughts. "Anna?" she replied in disbelief. She got to her knees and peered through the barred window at the bottom of her door. Near the far wall of the dungeon corridor, she could just make out a green striped skirt attached to a pair of feet.

"Elsa!" Anna cried in relief, seeing her sister's face appear through the window. She grabbed a torch from the closest pillar, nearly tripping on the icy floor as she ran to meet her.

"Anna, what are you doing here?" Elsa said. She couldn't be here, not when that monster was still around!

"I've come to get you out of here, of course," Anna replied. "I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Anna," Elsa said firmly. "I know you mean well by coming here, but you should be worried for yourself, not me. You have to leave, now."

"Don't be silly!" Anna retorted. "Who locked you up like this, anyway?"

"It doesn't matter. _Anna,"_ Elsa repeated, looking her sister straight in the eyes. "You _must_ go. It's not safe here. Please, before it's too late."

"No!" Anna shouted back at her, frustrated. "I'm not going back without you!"

"What are you doing here?" a deep voice roared.

Elsa flinched as she heard Anna's torch go out with a loud _hiss._   _It's all over now,_ she thought. She'd tried to warn Anna, but she didn't listen. She _never_ listened.

"Who's there?" Anna said, squinting in the sudden darkness. "Who are you?"

"The master of this castle," the Beast replied. He bounded over to the other side of the corridor.

"I've come to get my sister," Anna told him. "Please, can't you let her out?"

"NO!" he shouted. "She's my prisoner for trespassing here. She can _never_ leave."

"I'm sure she had no right to trespass here, sir, but something very, very bad is going to happen if you don't release her," Anna urged. "Our whole kingdom is in eternal winter, and we need her to unfreeze it."

The Beast snorted. "That's none of my concern." He turned his back on her and made his way back down the stairs.

Anna sighed. It was obvious that Elsa's captor was not going to give in to sympathy that easily. But she couldn't just give up. Elsa was her sister and she refused to let her rot in here. There had to be something she could do...

That's when it dawned on her.

"Wait!" she called out again.

The monster paused and turned his head. Anna wasn't sure, but she thought she could see a blue eye peering at her in the darkness.

"Take me, instead of her," she declared.

"You!" the Beast sneered. Then, he paused. "You...would take her place?" He looked back at her, curiously.

Seeing that she'd caught his attention, Anna stood and puffed her chest up importantly. "I would," she agreed.

"No, Anna!" Elsa cried. "You can't give up your life for me!"

"Even if you must stay here forever?" the Beast continued, ignoring the queen. "With me?" He stepped into the light.

Anna's eyes widened in horror as she took in the master's appearance. He was no dreamboat, that was for sure. He had the mane of a lion, the head of a buffalo, tusks like a wild boar's and had to be about two feet taller than her, at least. Instinct told her to run. But this wasn't about herself, she remembered. It was about Elsa, the queen of Arendelle. She might have shut her out for thirteen years, but she was still her sister, and she loved her.

"Yes," she agreed softly.

"Done!" declared the Beast. He grabbed the keys and unlocked the door to Elsa's cell without another word.

"No! Anna, listen to me!" Elsa shouted once the Beast opened the door and dragged her out into the corridor. "You don't belong here! You belong in Arendelle! It's me who deserves to be shut away like this, not you!"

"You're my sister, Elsa. I can't just let you die here," Anna replied. "I love you."

At those words, Elsa's heart turned as cold as ice. _What have I done?_ she thought. Her little sister was going to sacrifice herself for her, all because of a foolish mistake she'd made, because she'd never had the courage to tell her the truth about her powers. This was all her fault. "No!" she cried aloud.

Without thinking, she twisted her torso to the side and lifted her right arm up, sending a blast of ice straight towards the Beast's heart. The Beast roared in pain and released the queen. Breaking her own rule about not touching people without her gloves on, Elsa stood up and grabbed her sister's arm, pulling her around the injured Beast, towards the stairs. She spun around again and conjured a wall of ice as wide as the corridor so the monster couldn't pursue them.

"We're leaving," she told him sharply. "And don't you dare come after us."

"Elsa, what are you doing?" Anna said in amazement. True, she'd only known her sister had powers for a few hours, but what she'd just witnessed...it was nothing short of incredible.

"I'm saving you, of course," Elsa replied. "You're my sister, Anna. I can't just leave you here! I love you."

At those three words, Anna gasped. She looked into her sister's eyes and knew at that moment, that all misunderstandings between them were forgotten. They were best friends again, just like when they were kids. She threw her arms around her, and for once, Elsa did not hold back. Her love for Anna, and Anna's love for her had warmed her icy heart, melting away all those years of fear and isolation. She felt loved, and happy, and calm...and to her wonder, she realized that she was finally in control of powers. She was no longer anxious and insecure. "Anna!" she said, pulling away in excitement. "I know what to do. I can unfreeze Arendelle!"

"You can?" Anna said eagerly.

"Yes," she nodded. "All thanks to you. You were going to sacrifice yourself for me, even after everything I did to you. That's what I need to control my powers: love! Now I can use them for good, instead of hiding."

"Oh, Elsa," Anna said, hugging her sister again. "I knew you could do it! Love is the strongest magic there is. It can cure anything."

As the two sisters made their way down the stairs, the Beast got to his feet. From behind him, he could hear a familiar clanking noise as Lumiere jumped out of the alcove beside him.

"Are you alright, master?" he asked, concerned.

"Fine," the Beast grunted. "What just happened?"

"It would seem that the girls got away, master," Lumiere replied sadly. _"C'est dommage._ They were both quite beautiful, _non?"_

The Beast snarled at Lumiere's unhelpful comment, then walked to the wall of ice and began to break it open with his claws. There was a chance he could still catch the girls before they reached the forest, but really, what was the point? Neither of them would love him now, not after what he'd done. It was time to face the inevitable: his curse would never end. He was going to be a Beast forever, and nothing on earth could ever change that. It was hopeless.


End file.
